Trial reportThe Journal of infectious diseases2013
Daily acyclovir to decrease herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) transmission from HSV-2/HIV-1 coinfected persons: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in The Journal of infectious diseases, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- British Association of Sexual Health and HIV UK national guideline for the management of anogenital herpes, 2024.International journal of STD & AIDS · 2025Guideline
- Pooled it
- Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2021Guideline
- Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2015.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2015Guideline
- Impact of universal testing and treatment on sexual risk behaviour and herpes simplex virus type 2: a prespecified secondary outcomes analysis of the HPTN 071 (PopART) community-randomised trial.The lancet. HIV · 2022Trial
- Incidence of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection Among African Women Using Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate, a Copper Intrauterine Device, or a Levonorgestrel Implant for Contraception: A Nested Randomized Trial.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2022Trial
- Transient Increase in Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 (HSV-2)-Associated Genital Ulcers Following Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy in HIV/HSV-2-Coinfected Individuals.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2016Trial
- Effect of Condom Use on Per-act HSV-2 Transmission Risk in HIV-1, HSV-2-discordant Couples.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2016Trial
- HSV, HIV, and Pregnancy: Epidemiology, Viral Interactions, Management, and Prevention.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2026Review
- Mathematical modeling of the population-level impact of hypothetical herpes simplex virus type 2 curative therapy.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Viral Venereal Diseases of the Skin.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2021Review
- Increase in HSV shedding at initiation of antiretroviral therapy and decrease in shedding over time on antiretroviral therapy in HIV and HSV-2 infected persons.AIDS (London, England) · 2018Observational
- Volatile Acid-Solvent Evaporation (VASE): Molecularly Homogeneous Distribution of Acyclovir in a Bioerodable Polymer Matrix for Long-Term Treatment of Herpes Simplex Virus-1 Infections.Journal of drug delivery · 2018Article
- Does suppressive antiviral therapy for herpes simplex virus prevent transmission in an HIV-positive population? A systematic review.Canada communicable disease report = Releve des maladies transmissibles au Canada · 2016Article
- Herpes Simplex [corrected] Virus Type 2 Shedding From Male Circumcision Wounds in Rakai, Uganda.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2015Observational
- Herpes simplex virus 2 infection: molecular association with HIV and novel microbicides to prevent disease.Medical microbiology and immunology · 2015Review
- Evasion of early antiviral responses by herpes simplex viruses.Mediators of inflammation · 2015Review
- Article
- Incidence of herpes simplex virus type 2 infections in Africa: a systematic review.Open forum infectious diseases · 2014Review
- Identification of a broad-spectrum antiviral small molecule against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and Ebola, Hendra, and Nipah viruses by using a novel high-throughput screening assay.Journal of virology · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 16 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDaily suppressive therapy with valacyclovir reduces risk of sexual transmission of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in HSV-2-serodiscordant heterosexual couples by 48%. Whether suppressive therapy reduces HSV-2 transmission from persons coinfected with HSV-2 and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is unknown.
methodsWithin a randomized trial of daily acyclovir 400 mg twice daily in African HIV-1 serodiscordant couples, in which the HIV-1-infected partner was HSV-2 seropositive, we identified partnerships in which HIV-1-susceptible partners were HSV-2 seronegative to estimate the effect of acyclovir on risk of HSV-2 transmission.
resultsWe randomly assigned 911 HSV-2/HIV-1-serodiscordant couples to daily receipt of acyclovir or placebo. We observed 68 HSV-2 seroconversions, 40 and 28 in acyclovir and placebo groups, respectively (HSV-2 incidence, 5.1 cases per 100 person-years; hazard ratio [HR], 1.35 [95% confidence interval, .83-2.20]; P = .22). Among HSV-2-susceptible women, vaginal drying practices (adjusted HR, 44.35; P = .004) and unprotected sex (adjusted HR, 9.91; P = .002) were significant risk factors for HSV-2 acquisition; having more children was protective (adjusted HR, 0.47 per additional child; P = .012). Among HSV-2-susceptible men, only age ≤30 years was associated with increased risk of HSV-2 acquisition (P = .016).
conclusionsTreatment of African HSV-2/HIV-1-infected persons with daily suppressive acyclovir did not decrease risk of HSV-2 transmission to susceptible partners. More-effective prevention strategies to reduce HSV-2 transmission from HIV-1-infected persons are needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.